Deal with Your Debt: The Right Way to Manage Your Bills and Pay Off What You Owe (Liz Pulliam Weston) (Paperback)

by Liz Pulliam Weston (Author) "Debt isn't the root of all evil-but sometimes it sure feels that way..." (more)
Key Phrases: deal with your debt, home equity borrowing, retirement plan loans, Federal Reserve, Shopping Tips, Department of Education (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Most people carry debt for most of their adult lives. Yet, most books on debt focus mainly on how to pay it all off, and live forever without it. Too often, following that advice leads only to failure. People either give up, or pay off the wrong kinds of debt. They strand themselves with too little flexibility to survive a financial crisis -- and land in bankruptcy court. They neglect saving for retirement, homes, or college, and end up poorer than they might have been. For most people, it's more realistic -- and smarter -- to control and manage debt effectively, rather than eliminating it completely. Debt Smart shows how. Award-winning personal finance columnist Liz Weston explains the rules and explodes the myths surrounding debt. Discover the crucial role debt can play in a portfolio, identifying debts that actually contribute to wealth and flexibility, while avoiding or eliminating "toxic" debts. Weston presents effective strategies for evaluating, monitoring, and paying every form of debt, from credit cards and mortgages to student and auto loans. She offers practical guidelines for how much debt one should take on.Find realistic (and often surprising) guidance on everything from home equity loans and 401K borrowing to small business loans.

From the Back Cover
Most people carry debt for most of their adult lives. Yet, most books on debt focus mainly on how to pay it all off, and live forever without it. Too often, following that advice leads only to failure. People either give up, or pay off the wrong kinds of debt. They strand themselves with too little flexibility to survive a financial crisis -- and land in bankruptcy court. They neglect saving for retirement, homes, or college, and end up poorer than they might have been. For most people, it’s more realistic -- and smarter -- to control and manage debt effectively, rather than eliminating it completely. Debt Smart shows how. Award-winning personal finance columnist Liz Weston explains the rules and explodes the myths surrounding debt. Discover the crucial role debt can play in a portfolio, identifying debts that actually contribute to  wealth and flexibility, while avoiding or eliminating “toxic” debts. Weston presents effective strategies for evaluating, monitoring, and paying every form of debt, from credit cards and mortgages to student and auto loans. She offers practical guidelines for how much debt one should take on.  Find realistic (and often surprising) guidance on everything from home equity loans and 401K borrowing to small business loans.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (August 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131856758
• ISBN-13: 978-0131856752
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #343,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great information - but use with caution, December 13, 2006

By	Paul Skinner (Manassas, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This book is full of great information on high to prioritize your financial life in terms of debt reduction, retirement saving and other saving. But the advice assumes the reader has a fair amount of discipline (i.e., ability to budget and constrain extraneous spending). The book goes into great detail on how to balance debt reduction with maintaining financial flexibility, maintaining good FICO scores, etc. But far too many people who are deeply in debt (and seeking help from books like this) have a spending habit that needs more drastic surgery than this book gives. So, I would say this book gives outstanding advice, but only for a subset of the public who have the right discipline. For many folks, the more drastic "surgery" advocated by cheerleaders like Dave Ramsey will be more effective.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The easiest to read, most comprehensive debt book ever, May 7, 2007

By	TJ Graves "Crazy Cat Lady" (Belleville, WI USA) - See all my reviews

I bought three debt books the last time I was at Amazon. They were all good, but this was the most comprehensive in easy to read format and sentences that it made things easy to develop a plan from this book. I already passed it on to two other people.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough unbaised advice, February 2, 2006

By	Gerri Detweiler "Ultimate Credit Solutions Inc." (Gulf Coast, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have known Liz Weston for years as a journalist and have always found her to be very thorough and no-nonsense. This book is no exception. It's well researched with unbaised and sensible strategies for dealing with debt. I had the opportunity to interview Liz on my internet radio show EverydayWealthRadio recently about the book and she clearly has great advice on this topic. She addresses things like 401k loan, pros and cons of different types of debt, and the common questions I hear from consumers,